


Drown my Heart (With Love)

by orphan_account



Category: South Park
Genre: Babys play chess, Kiwi is the cutest lil budgie, M/M, Mermaid Craig, Merman Craig?, Near Death Experiences, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Surfer Tweek Tweak, These poems litterally took 30 seconds for me to write each, They are 13 so get your mind out of the gutter, Tweek is a poet, Tweek is colorblind and can only see blue, sorry if your name is either August or Augustine, thats cool I guess, the other poems I came up with but didnt use will be on my Instagram, wtf kinda name is Augustine?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2020-10-29 12:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20796869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A young boy, 13 to be exact, had life going okay for him. He had just picked up surfing and he was a natural at it. He got a little too carried away on his last day at the beach for the summer and almost drowned due to a wave he wasnt ready for swooping him under.But what is he gonna do about the puppy-like and curious mermaid that saved him?Nothing. Because according to him, mermaids don't exist





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story is a WIP of course. I can't tell you when exactly it will be done, or when it will update but just know I am constantly working on it. I will not let this story become abandoned! It will get finished!
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy this akward ball of an idea I had while sitting in a corner at a school dance comping on pretzels.

Water. Deep, dark and blue surrounded the boy. All that registered in his mind was that he was sinking, slowly falling to the far bottom of the cold abyss. His eyes opened to be met with indigo. He tilted his chin upwards slightly, vision drawn to the light leaking from above. The light was dimming, reminding the exhausted boy that he couldn’t do anything to get closer to the surface air. However, unlike his usual self, he was not panicking. He was as calm as ever, submerged entirely, also still. He wasn’t even shaking from the cold. If not for the unpleasant, but nowhere near painful, feeling of water filling his lungs he would have let out a chuckle.

_ Isn’t it fitting?  _ He would ask himself.  _ I’m so at ease that the time I’m actually dying is when I don’t freak out about it. _

His soaked blonde hair drifted outwards from his head, some stray locks covering his blue eyes. He felt no need to leave them open, so slowly, he closed his pale lids over the cerulean orbs in his head he called eyes. The water was cold. The cold was numbing. The numbing made the boy feel detached. He could no longer find the strength to move, or even wiggle, the fingers that didn’t feel connected to his body.

_ I always imagined going out screaming and kicking. But here I am, edging closer, unable to do either. _

If he wasn’t so numb, he would have felt the pair of arms slither around his torso. Those arms belonging to a silent spectator, who had seen the entire ordeal, a person watching him since he first stepped foot into the water.

He was no longer sinking. He was instead being dragged upwards toward the light. Back towards his surfboard. Back towards a part of the shore where there were people racing to. He was laid on the sand along with his board, a little past the reaches of the tide.

His body longed to breathe, the mysterious savior didn’t understand. The boy had air, why wasn’t he moving? The figure tried to copy what he’d seen the life guards do.

A push on his chest, a second, and a third. His eyes didn’t open, but he did cough up the water that was trapped inside his lungs.

He was okay, he was breathing again. The witness heard yelling of people coming their way. The boy’s rescuer quickly whispered a warning into his barely working ears.

“You need to be more cautious, don’t try to show off again or I might not be able to get to you in time,”

As the monotone voice laced with concerned stopped, the boy opened his eyes to see light blue and a flash of black hair duck into the water. The yells of his family and the other surfers became louder. 

The boy was still too exhausted, and now confused. His eyes shut again, and he drifted.

Not in the water, but into a state of slumber.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek's back in school and he gets questioned about what happened over the summer by his close friends.

“Mr. Tw-... M- Twe-... Mr. Tweak?”

The boy jolted out of his mid-class nap due to the teacher calling for him.

“Uh… S-sorry… What was the question?” The boy asked drowsily, still in a bit of a haze.

“I had asked you what you did over summer break,” The teacher politely repeated herself.

"Oh… I-I uh went surfing," the Tweak boy answered. Murmurs echoed through the classroom.

"Thank you Mr. Tweak. Mr. Stotch, what did you do over summer break?" The murmurs grew louder as the next child answered, people still hung up about the fact that the classes paranoid freak did something so dangerous. The murmurs couldn't stay quiet for long, a voice broke out.

"No way, you're scared of everything trying to kill you! Why would you go out in the ocean?" The class went quiet. The boy in question spoke up.

"I didn't feel scared, being surrounded by the ocean air and the calming waves made me feel at peace. I found something that makes me truly content," The boy turned to face the accuser. "Sounds to me like you'd be the one scared in that situation," the boy deadpanned. 

Brad, at least that's what the Tweak boy thought his name was, started sputtering. He was not a fan of having a finger pointed at him. "Wh-Wha? I… I wouldn't be scared…" Jason, maybe that's what his name was, looked around to see the class covering their snickering faces.

"Children! Please quiet down!"

\---

"What was that about Tweek?" Leopold asked the blonde boy. "You got a little defensive in class," the strawberry blonde pointed out.

"Well yeah, he was talking shit about my new favorite thing," Tweek took a sip from his juice box.

"That's reminds us! How was the surfing thing Twinkie?" Kenny asked from his position at the lunch table.

"Stop calling me that, and it was fine except for one incident," Tweek shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"What happened Tweek?" Stan piped up from the left side of Kenny.

"Oh, y'know… I almost drowned…" Tweek shrugged again, finishing his sandwich and moving onto his applesauce.

"Wh-... What?" Kyle asked from the left of Stan.

"Sone huge wave took me under, I couldn't get back to the surface in time. Someone saved me out there though… They had black hair, at least I think, and a bit of a monotone voice," Tweek took a spoonful of applesauce into his mouth. 

"Dude! You were totally saved by a mermaid!" Kenny butted in.

"A mermaid saved me?" Tweek smiled, closed his eyes and then turned to Kenny. His face warped with disinterest, "No" Tweek gulped down the rest of his applesauce. "Mermaids aren't real Kenny. It was probably just some swimmer out there who saw me in trouble and helped…" Tweek rolled his eyes and gathered his trash. "Besides, it was a guy," Tweek then left the table to throw his garbage away.

\---

Now in his English class, Tweek sat at his desk, writing whatever came to mind. On this particular page of his English notebook, he had a collection of short poems.

_ 'Oceans blue, _

_ Under the surface, _

_ Water fills the lungs, _

_ Gasp for air' _

_ 'Gray fills my world, _

_ Vision clouded, _

_ Blue, _

_ The only color left unshrouded' _

_ 'Emotion into words, _

_ Poetry is my escape, _

_ An alternative, _

_ To the waves' _

He looked over the writing, contemplating which he should share with his class. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, repeating the latter a few times. He opened his eyes and wrote a final poem.

_ 'Surrounded by water, _

_ A second home, _

_ It feels like the only thing, _

_ I've ever known, _

_ I wish to go back, _

_ I feel at peace, _

_ All my worries and struggles, _

_ Seem to cease,' _

This last poem would be the one. It didn't give away any of his situation to his classmates, and it didn't tell them anything about the incident. He felt a shift in the air and looked up to see others raising their hands. He mimicked the action. His teacher's face lit up to see Tweek volunteering. The kind man smiled and picked on Tweek. The boy got up from his desk, pushed his chair in, and walked to the front of the classroom. He set his notebook on the podium in front of where he stood and looked up to see the faces of his expecting classmates. The boy cleared his throat before reading his short poem.

"Surrounded by water," He glanced to his teacher before looking down again, "A second home," He looked to Kenny who was sitting in the back row. "It feels like the only thing," His gaze turned to Butters, "I've ever known," People lifted their hands slightly, unaware if they should clap yet. the boy gulped before reading the rest of his poem "I wish to go back, I feel at peace. All my worries and struggles, seem to cease," The boy finished and closed his notebook, grabbing it and making his way back to the desk he previously sat at. After the clapping halted, he stopped a row before his place to turn to his teacher again. "The calming waves, ocean breeze. Drowning sorrows, kept underneath," he improvised as a final line before he sat down finally.

"Oh… uh thank you Tweek," his teacher commented. "Who wants to share next?" The teacher was still a bit out of it, he always never knew what to say in response to Tweek's poems. He would comment on the other students, saying how he liked the word choice, but Tweek's always left him clueless, forced to move on. Tweek even wrote a poem about it.

_ 'When I go up to the front, _

_ You struggle to understand, _

_ I'm sorry you have trouble, _

_ I try all that I can, _

_ But my poems are just confusing, _

_ Convinced of this I am, _

_ For you are a king, _

_ And I'm but a simple farmhand' _

When he had turned in his notebook on the last day of school, his teacher wrote a question mark on the page, still not understanding what Tweek meant. Tweek chuckled at remembering the teacher confused about a poem inspired by the man's confusion. He smiled as he listened to Kenny's poem about his little sister. He looked down to his page and wrote down what popped into his head.

_ 'Poetry and surfing, _

_ What lovely things to do, _

_ If my old therapist could see me now, _

_ He'd flip, I tell you,' _

\---

"Augustine, how was school?" Richard Tweak asked the boy who had just walked through the front door.

Tweek absolutely despised his name. August was bad enough, but Augustine? 'Just call me Tweek' is what the boy would always say to his teachers and friends. It may have not been the kindest nickname, but it suited him better than Augustine.

"Oh… it was good dad. I baffled my English teacher again," Tweek shrugged off his pastel green hoodie, thats the color his parents had said it was, and set it on the back of the couch, exposing his white tank top hidden underneath it. 

"That's great honey, dinner will be read in about an hour," his mom, Mary Tweak, spoke from the kitchen.

"Cool, thanks mom," the boy traveled up the stairs and to the second door on the left. He opened it to be met with the sight of a small bird walking along his desk. "Hey Kiwi," the boy greeted the green, or so he had been told it was green, and white bird. "Miss me?" The small parakeet made a chirping sound and gently flew over to Tweek, landing in his hair. "I'll take that as a yes," the boy giggled a bit as the bird nuzzled it face into his hair. "Anyway, I gotta get some work done Kiwi," having heard this, the bird just nuzzled deeper into Tweek's blonde mop, preparing for a nap. The boy chuckled softly before sitting down at the desk and pulling out his red, that's what other people said it was, notebook with a nametag on it that read _ 'HISTORY' _. He turned to the last page and read over the description of his savior. 

_ Black hair, moderate pitch voice, flat but concerned tone, blue ??? _

Tweek closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, mindful of the bird sleeping in his hair. What was the blue he had seen? It was a lighter color than the dark water and almost shone in the light. Tweek shook his head slightly and flipped back to the current page in his history notes. He grabbed his text book and began writing the vocabulary. He hadn't noticed, but at one point he began doodling in the margin of his note paper. On closer inspection, he realized it wasn't a doodle, but words.

_ 'I might not be able to get to you in time,' _

His subconscious had made him quote what his savior said. The boy lifted his pencil and tried to go back to his history notes, but his attention was being taken by thoughts of his rescue. He would write down a word and then see a flashback of the figure retreating into the water. Write an entire sentence to feel the breath by his ear as the person whispered their words of caution. He had finished his homework, but the notes weren't on his mind. He only had one thought.

_ I need to go to the beach again _

\---

"So…" Tweek oddly started. "Can we go back to the beach soon?" Tweek looked up from his plate to between both his parents.

"Well, I don't see why not, we only live about five minutes away by car, it would only take about fifteen or twenty minutes to walk," Mary Tweak dabbed her face with a napkin. "If you want us to drive you it would have to be on the weekends, you'd have to walk on weekdays since we have to manage the shop," His mother finished before eating another bite of her mashed potatoes.

"Oh, uh… could you send me directions to that beach?" He asked, secretly celebrating.

"But of course August, we want to support you in your new passion!" His dad piped up.

Tweek groaned at the stupid name. His dad found any chance possible to say it, proud of the fact he'd been the one to come up with it all on his own. Tweek quickly collected himself to get to the point of the conversation. "Can I… go after school tomorrow?"

"Well, I don't see why not. Just bring a bag of clothes to change into and a towel," His mother replied. Tweek internally celebrated. He had the permission needed to go back and try and meet his savior. 

\---

That night, Tweek went to bed with hope for tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other poems I wrote that were going to be in Tweek's notebook, before I narrowed it down, are featured on my Instagram @SulphieChan


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek goes back to the beach, and his plan works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew nothing about surfing, I actually had to ask someone at my school who surfs about this stuff. I also did some research, so now I know some strange stuff about a sport I'll never even try.
> 
> \---
> 
> Also sorry this took so long to update! I was busy with a History project and it took a lot of time.

"Dude are you okay?" Tweek wasn't really listening to the concerned words of Kenny, he was too busy thinking about what he was going to be doing after school, "Tweek?"  _ Let's see… I could bring my surf gear and wait for another wave to come and get me, I could maybe…  _ "Tweek dude!"

"Huh?" Tweek looked up from where he was staring while his mind was racing with plans. "What?"

"You were staring at Butter's sandwich so intensely it was like you wanted to kill it, are you alright?" Kenny asked again.

"Oh yeah, I'm okay. I was just thinking about what I was gonna do after school today," Tweek tried to explain himself.

"And what exactly is that Tweek?" Butters asked, taking another bite of the mentioned sandwich.

"Oh, I'm gonna go back to the beach. See if I can meet the person that saved me," Tweek clarified.

"Oh! Can I come with you Tweek? I recently found a metal detector that still works, I might find some shit I can sell with it," Kenny asked the other blonde.

"Sure, just come to my house after school," Tweek simply answered.

"I'll come too, I'll also drag Stan with me" Kyle stated.

"Okay then, everyone who wants to come just... be at my house around four-fifteen or four-twenty," The rest of the lunch table answered with variations of 'okay'.

\---

_ My best bet is to probably do the wave method and get taken under again, but pretend to drown this time instead of actually- _

"Tweek could you answer number six for the class?" The 7th grade math teacher questioned.

Tweek looked away from the window next to his seat "Uhh…" He took a second to glance at number six before making eye contact with the teacher. "Two,"

"Could you tell us how you got two?" The teacher tried to get the boy more involved.

"Yeah," Tweek didn't take his eyes off the teacher. "The problem asked to solve the equation '8x+2=18' for 'x', so I just simply subtracted the two from both sides," The teacher started to write what Tweek was saying on the whiteboard. "That left me with '8x=16'. I then divided by eight on both sides of the equation giving me 'x=2'. So am I wrong Mrs. Koleford?" Tweek asked finally looking back down, writing what he had said on the math paper.

"No, you're right Tweek. Jason, number seven please?"

_ Why do the teachers always interrupt me at the worst times.  _ Tweek resumed staring out the window and continued to contemplate his game plan.

"Dude, how did you do that?" Kenny's voice could be heard from the desk next to Tweek.

"Do what?"

"The math problem. So fast?" Kenny asked

"Oh, it wasn't too hard, it really was mental math" Tweek replied.

"Okay, I'm gonna be real with you. I don't want to talk about math," Kenny said.

"Then what is this about Kenny?"

"I was wondering what the rest of us are supposed to do while your surfing. I'm going to be using the metal detector, but what about the others?"

"Oh… uh, do anything you want at the beach. But look, I don't really see how this ma-"

"Kenny? Tweek? What are you to whispering about back there?" Tweek was interrupted by the teacher.

"Nothing,"

"Okay then, pay attention to this. It's important"

Tweek turned to Kenny, "We can talk about this when the time comes,"

"Fine" Kenny returned to his math notes.

\---

"My friends are gonna be here soon to go to the beach with me" Tweek shouted from the couch.

"Okay sweetie, don't stay at the beach to long. You still have homework to get done. I'm going to head to the shop now bye honey," Tweek's mom kissed his forehead before leaving the house. 

"Finally," Tweek glanced toward the clock on the wall of his living room. "Better get my wetsuit on…" Tweek got up from the couch, and made is way up the stairs. He slipped into his room, closed, and locked the door. A small chirping noise caught his attention as he made his way to his closet. "Sorry Kiwi. I can't really play right now, I've got to get ready before everyone arrives," In response to Tweek's words the small bird made a sound that, to Tweek, seemed to signify Kiwi was hungry. "Oh right, you need food before I go," Tweek took his wet suit out of the closet and set it on his bed before quickly giving Kiwi some bird feed. After filling the bowl on his desk with the feed, Tweek returned to putting on his wetsuit. When he finished, he put a white t-shirt (with a supposedly red circle on the front) and black basketball shorts on over the suit. Tweek grabbed his bag, and said goodbye to Kiwi. Tweek walked down the stairs and out to the garage. He turned to his left and grabbed his surfboard that was propped up next to a workbench. He sat on the couch just in time for the doorbell to ring. Tweek groaned, got up and opened the door to be met with his entire lunch table.

"Hiya Tweek!" Butters spoke up.

"Hey, just let me grab my surfboard," Tweek left the door open and went to the couch to grab his bag and surfboard. He made his way back to the door. "Alright let's go," Tweek walked outside and closed the front door. He took his key out of his bag and locked it behind him. "To the beach"

As the group made their way to the beach Tweek continued to ponder what to do.  _ I think my best bet is to pretend to drown until they show up. As many times as it takes.  _

"Tweek, how exactly are you going to do this?" Kyle asked.

"Pretend to drown again,"

"What?!?" Kyle shouted. "You can't be serious Tweek! That's dangerous, what if you actually end up drowning?"

"Then I'll have drowned, done and done. Besides, I have to thank them. They saved my life. I'll put it in danger again just to let them know I'm grateful," 

The conversation being over, Stan and Kyle started idle chatter as the continued on their way. After another 2 minutes they had all arrived at the beach.

"I'm gonna go talk to some of the surfers, you guys can come if you want. But, if you don't then just hang out," Tweek stated as he set his stuff on an area in the sand.

"I'll stay with everyone's stuff," Kyle volunteered.

"And I'll stay with Kyle," Stan piped up.

"Alright. I'll see you guys later," Tweek took off his shirt and basketball shorts and shoved them into his bag. He then grabbed his board, attached the leash to his ankle, and made his way down to the area of the beach where he knew the surfers who taught him hung out.

As he approached, one of the surfers recognized him. "Oh! Its you! Tweek! Welcome back to the beach," Dave greeted him.

"Hey! I couldn't stay away for long! Surfing is pretty fun! I had to come back to do it some more," Tweek told the man a half-truth.

"Well, we won't keep you long, it's good to see you man," Ralph, another surfer, spoke up.

"Good to see you too!" Tweek walked away from the group and set his board in the water. He lied down on the board and started paddling out farther from the shore. When he felt he was as far as before, he stopped and waited for a similar wave to appear. He was able to ride some small waves as he was waiting for the monster to appear.

A few waves later he sat on his board and after getting to relax for a few minutes Tweek heard it before he saw it. The sound of rushing water, approaching his position. Tweek looked around before his eyes landed on the blue curtain of water behind him, coming closer. He remembered what the other surfers had taught him. He started paddling away from it, trying to time it perfectly. When he felt the board start to be lifted, he popped up and began riding the wave. When he felt it was right, he pretended to slip, and wipe out. He closed his eyes, held his breath and waited. He was about running out of air, and sinking, when he felt a hand grab his wrist and start to pull him upwards to a deserted area of the beach. When he broke the surface of the water, he slowly inhaled. He kept his eyes closed, trying to not give any hint he was conscious. When he felt gritty sand in his hair, scratching his scalp he opened his eyes to be met with a familiar sight.

"Are you okay?" A concerned voice asked.

"I-It's you…"


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek talks with the mystery boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! I was really busy, but now I'm back!

"I-It's you,"

"But are you okay? That was a nasty fall. You could have gotten hurt… or worse," The kind stranger stated.

"I wasn't dreaming… or hallucinating… you really did save me,"

"Yeah… I did, and now I want to know what made you think you should go out in the ocean and try to ride a wave like the previous one that took you under," The black-haired boy's eyes narrowed. "I risked a lot to make sure you were okay, so answer me… Are you okay?" 

"Yeah… I'm fine, I pretended to fall so I could talk to you,"

"That's dangerous! You could have almost drowned… Again!"

"I'm sorry for putting my life on the line again but I wanted to thank you. Before, you took off while I was barely conscious. But now that you're here again, and you're real, thank you for saving me that day," 

The black-haired boy pursed his lips. "If that's all you have to say, I'll be go-"

"No! I mean, can I talk to you?" 

The boy tilted his head to side.

"Okay… I have a question, how did you know I was in danger to come and save me?"

The boy supposedly blushed, as Tweek could see a dark grey spread across his face. The boy pulled away from Tweek's face and 'sat' on the beach next to him. "I… I was watching you…"

Now without anything keeping him against the sand, Tweek propped himself up with his arms. He looked down at his ankle to see the leash still attached, connected to his surfboard.  _ Thank god…  _ Tweek looked over to his savior to s-  _ What? _ There, right in front of Tweek's eyes, was a royal-blue tail connected to a human torso. His eyes trailed upwards to see the face of his savior. "Holy shit… Kenny was right,"

"You… Now that you've thanked me are you satisfied? 'Cause I kinda have to get back to my friends and my little sis-"

"You're a mermaid… mer… man?"

"Uhh..." The boy spaced out before snapping to his senses. "Shit…"

"You… How are you real? And… You could have gotten yourself into serious trouble saving me and…"  _ Not all people would be this nice…  _ were the words Tweek left unspoken. 

"Don't you think I know that? I saw you, and I was watching you! I couldn't just let you die! I had to do something! I made sure to leave fast enough so no-one would catch me!" The dark grey spread and seemed to almost glow.

"Wait… You risked your safety, to make sure I was okay?"

"Uhh…"  _ Is it even possible for someone to blush that much?  _ "Yeah, yeah I did. Got a problem with that?" The mermaid? Merman? Started getting a little angry. 

"Yeah, I do. I don't even know your name and you decided to risk your life to save mine. You're like… a mythical creature! Someone could have tried to capture you or something, I don’t know!" Tweek tried to reason.

"Well, my name is Craig! There! Now that you know my name your reason is no longer valid!" Self proclaimed 'Craig' crossed his arms.

"That's not the point! Just-" Tweek no longer wanted to argue with a mermaid over their safety. "It… It doesn’t matter anymore… Just be careful…"

"No! You don't get off that easy! I told you my name! You tell me yours!" 

"Fine! I'm Tweek! Why are you so angry?"

"Because! I don't know! Your face makes me angry!"

"How?"

"I said I don't know! I just- I gotta go find my little sister, I kinda left her to come help you out… I'll be going now" Craig went to turn around and leave, but Tweek grabbed his wrist. "What Tweek?"

"When and how can I see you again?"

"Umm… uhh… you wanna see me again?" Craig lifted a finger and pointed to his face.

"Yeah,"

"Oh, okay—Tomorrow, same time. Just come to this part of the beach so you don't endanger your life again!" Craig slowly rolled himself over until he was in the water.

"Oh… Okay, umm… Bye Craig, see you tomorrow then,"

"See ya 'round the beach, Tweek!" Craig called out before swimming away. Tweek watched the beautiful blue of the tail contrasting against the water until it was out of sight. He sighed before getting up, grabbing his board and heading back to where his friends were.  _ What a weirdo. One second he was mad. Then he was confused? _

Kenny looked up from the ground his metal detector was hovering over. "Hey Tweek! Any luck?" Tweek snapped his head from the sand below him to Kenny's face.

"Umm… yeah actually. His name is Craig and he-" Tweek stopped to think about his next words. "-was a really nice guy. He did lecture me about my safety but eh," Tweek shrugged his shoulders.

"Sounds eventful, I kinda want to meet h-"

"No!" Tweek quickly interrupted. "I mean- he's just kinda shy!" Tweek lied on the spot. "I-I'm gonna go get my stuff and head home, see ya, Kenny," And with that, Tweek walked over to where Kyle and Stan were sitting with everyone's bags. He took the towel out of his and quickly dabbed himself till he was no longer dripping. After doing so, he unfastened the leash and slipped on the basketball shorts and the circle t-shirt. "Bye guys, I'm heading home," Tweek stated as he put the bag over his shoulder, surfboard in hand.

"Okay, see ya Tweek! We should do this again sometime!"

"Yeah, I’m… Coming back tomorrow. Same time…" Tweek finally left the beach.

Arriving home, Tweek realized he was the only one there. He looked up to the clock to see it was now 7:23 PM.  _ I was gone three hours? Felt like 30 minutes…  _ Tweek went to his bedroom and set his bag and surfboard on the ground by the door. With the weight off his arms, he made his way to the bathroom to take a shower. He turned the water on and pried his shirt, shorts, and wetsuit off. He quickly washed any ocean residue out of his hair.

Walking back into his bedroom with a towel around his waist, he quickly put on some black boxers and a large grey short sleeved shirt. Throwing the shirt, shorts, and wetsuit from earlier in the washer, he fixed a cup of tea and waited to put them in the dryer. Scrolling through Youtube to pass the time, he was brought out of the strange video hole by a text from his mom.

_ We won't be home till late tonight. There is a bit of leftover salad in the fridge. _

Tweek sighed and pulled out the bit of lettuce. He decided to skip any salad dressing and was munching on the lettuce while switching the clothes from the washer to the dryer. With his clothes for tomorrow all ready, he checked the time again to see 2 more hours had passed in his shuffling around the house. 

As he made his way back to his room, coffee from earlier long discarded, he turned off the lights in the house. Finally in the safety of his bed, he stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. Since he had the time now, his mind let itself think about… Craig. 

_ What a weirdo _ . He turned onto his side to stare at his alarm clock. The number it read just barely flashed in his mind before getting back on track.  _ One second he was angry with me, then next he was docile, and then he seemed embarrassed. He's… quite the catch… _

"Heh…"

\---

Currently, a mermaid… Merman…? Merperson? Whatever, they have a fishtail where legs are supposed to be on humans. Well, they were currently pacing… swimming? Swim pacing? He was doing whatever that was in a sunken ship not far from the place he called home. 

"Oh my god I talked to him! He talked to me! Stripe, don't you understand what this means?" The raven-haired boy turned to a brown-ish orange clownfish that had only one white stripe along its body. "I have an excuse to go to the surface! I might be able to convince him to let me go with him! I can see the stars and I can do all sorts of things up there!" The excited boy clenched and unclenched his fists a few times. The clownfish just spun in a circle. Craig turned his back to the clownfish and sank onto the floor. "You're right, I shouldn't get my hopes up… I mean, he'd have to teach me human customs and other things." He turned back to Stripe, eyes wide. 

"Do you think I can use this curse to my advantage?" The boy deflated a bit before looking up to the clownfish. "I wish I knew how it worked, Stripe" He sat up. "I gotta find out how to… activate?" He tilted his head to the side. "Is that a proper word for it? Activating the curse?" Stripe just spun in a circle again. Craig fully laid down and raised a hand to his face. "Doesn't matter." A smile formed. 

"I've got a chance to achieve my dream! And I'm not gonna let it slip away!" Craig clenched his raised fist.


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some babys play chess to learn more about eachother and an informal promise is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG AGH! I had so many school projects to do but finally got them done to bring you this new chapter! I still dont have an upload schedule, so I cant promise anything except this book WILL be finished eventually. Please bear with me till then!

Tweek's pencil furiously scribbled across paper. The faster he finished his homework the faster he could get to Craig, it was almost time to go anyway. He wrote down the last answer to the math problem and pushed away from his desk. The noise startled Kiwi from her sleep.

"Sorry, Kiwi." Tweek apologized to the bird. Kiwi just curled back into itself and started napping again. Tweek quickly put on a pair of pants and was about to leave when something in the corner of his room caught his eye. He packed it into a bag and went downstairs.

"Bye mom, I'm off to the beach. I'll be back later."

"Alright, bye sweetie!" 

He quickly ran down the sidewalk to the beach, bag hitting his leg with each bounce, the item inside shifting around and making a considerate amount of noise. When he arrived he greeted the usual group of surfers and made his way to the abandoned part of the beach. 

He walked over to the water and put a hand above his eyes, shielding them from the sun. He looked around to see if he could find Craig.

"You came." The blonde turned toward the source of the voice and saw Craig laying on top of a large rock on the shore.

"Yeah," he started walking over to the fish boy. "I wanted to talk to you again like I said."

"What's in there?" he pointed at the bag slung over Tweek's shoulder. The blonde reached in and pulled out a plastic chess set. 

"Getting to know you chess?"

"What's… chess?" The boy pushed himself off the rock and into the water. 

Tweek waited for him to surface and swim close to the shore to answer. "It's a strategy game. I'll teach you how to play." He started setting up the board. "I'm going to add an extra rule too. Well, it's not really a rule. Everytime we take a piece, we get to ask the other person one question about themselves that they have to answer. One question only. Unless, they don't know the answer of course. Then you get to ask another. When you finally take the king you get to ask up to three questions."

"Take a piece?" He let the tide slide him onto the edge of the shore, he then pulled himself up a bit so the water couldn't take him back.

"Yeah, chess is a game where you try to capture the enemy's king." He held up the white king piece. "All the other pieces are to help you do so." The king was placed on Craig's side. He lifted up one of the black knight pieces. "The knight can only move in an 'L' shape. Two across and three over or vice versa. The knight can also jump over pieces, others can't do that." He set it down on his side of the board. He went through all the other pieces, placing white on Craig's side and black on his. "In chess, white goes first, so make your move." Tweek crossed his legs where he was sitting.

Craig reached his hand out and moved his pawn left-most pawn two spaces out. Tweek moved his knight in the right side, sliding one square over towards the middle of the board. Craig then moved the same pawn one more forward. Tweek sent the pawn one square right of Craig's two spaces forward and took Craig's piece.

"So, how old are you?" Tweek asked.

"Thirteen, turned so in what you call January." Craig moved his knight on the left side in the exact way Tweek moved his. They continued going back and forth till Tweek took another of Craig's pawns.

"When we met you said you had a little sister, what's she like?" The question caught Craig off guard and he knocked over one of his pieces by accident. He quickly set it back up.

"A royal pain in the ass, literally. Beloved princess? More like a shark. She's got long ginger hair that my mom splits in two parts and ties off with seaweed, they seem like drooping devil horns." Craig's choice of words seemed oddly specific. The next piece to be taken belonged to Tweek.

"Hmmm…" Craig tried to think for a moment. "That blonde that was yelling for you. Who is he?"

"Kenny? Well, he's a pervert for one. He's dating another kid. Butters, also known as Leopold or Leo. I wouldn't really call Kenny my friend. Butters is my best friend and he and Kenny are a packaged deal." They continued taking turns, one of Craig's rooks was then taken. "Tell me something interesting or unique about yourself."

"Uhh- This is embarrassing." The raven pulled away from the board and sat back with his tail curled around to the side. "My family is cursed… Well, only I am." 

"What does that mean?" Tweek looked up from the chess board.

"You'll have to take another piece to get the answer, Tweek." Craig smirked, reminding Tweek of the rules he himself set. It was about another minute before another pawn was taken.

"What do you mean by only you're cursed?"

"It's a curse on my mom's side that only affects boys… Lucky me, I'm the first born boy since the curse was placed on her family. I'm the test run to see if it actually exists…" 

"What does the cur-" He stopped himself, remembering that he could only ask one question again. The continued the game until Craig took one of Tweek's knights.

"What were you doing when we first met? What was I watching you do."

"I almost forgot you were watching me. Maybe I should ask you about that next." Tweek joked, laughing when he saw Craig's face gain a dark grey hue. "It's called surfing, and I learned how to do it a few weeks ago during the summer."

"You only learned a few weeks ago? You seem professional."

"I wouldn't call myself a professional, I would have died if it weren't for you." Tweek furrowed his brows.

"Yeah yeah, you already thanked me. Now make your move" He pointed to the board. Tweek did so, using his queen to take a lone pawn.

"What does the curse entail?" He was finally able to ask.

Craig sighed and layed back down on his stomach. He propped his head up with one elbow in the sand, hand supporting his chin. "I don't know exactly what it is. No one's told me, but I'm supposed to be spending as much time with my family and friends as I can. All I know is something's going to happen that makes it so I'll be away from them for a while… it happens in September. I'm not going to lie. I'm kind of scared, but I'm also excited. I have my suspicions as to what happens and one of my theories excites me!" His tail started wagging like a dog. Tweek laughed again as he watched Craig's mood turn around. The raven moved his bishop and took another one of Tweek's pawns. "If my favorite theory turns out to be what happens will you help me?" He looked directly into Tweek's eyes, smiling from ear to ear.

"Well, if it wouldn't be hurting anyone or causing either of us to die then… yeah, I'll help you." Craig clapped his hands like a little kid.

"Great! Thanks, Tweek!" The blonde moved his queen around.

"Check." Craig looked at the board and tilted his head.

"Check?"

"It means I'll take your king next round. Unless you can find a way to stop that from happening." Craig looked around and saw his bishop was in line. He took the queen. 

"Guess I foiled your check? Anyway, will you come to the beach a little before sunset on…" He thought for a moment. "September 29th?" 

"Uhh, that's oddly specific… I'll try my best to make it. I'll come everyday if you want me to." Tweek moved his rook, it was now in line with the king. "Checkmate." Craig looked and realized he had no way of blocking or taking the rook. He simply moved a knight and watched Tweek proceed to take the king. "My first of three questions is about your friends, you also mentioned them that day we met. What are they like?"

"Well, there's Token, Clyde, and Jimmy. Token's family holds a noble ranking in the kingdom, and was the second friend I ever made. Clyde was my first friend. He's what you would call a 'dumbass'." He used air quotes. "He cries a lot too, which is a surprising feat considering we live in water. Jimmy is my third friend and he stutters when he talks. He also has a torn fin so he can't swim right without the help of a brace." He looked to Tweek waiting for the next question.

"Kingdom?" 

"Yeah, us merfolk have an established monarchy. The ruling family are the king and queen with their daughter and son. Token's family is really only subordinate to them in one ranking of power." That seemed to be all he get out of that.

"Why were you watching me?"

The gray tiny returned to Craig's face. "I was bored and didn't have anything better to do. I was always fascinated by the surface anyway. I would only go out at night to see the stars but I saw you getting close to where I was. I got curious and swam to a small alcove to watch you."

"There are other surfers, you know that right?"

"You already asked three questions, but I suppose I'll answer. You looked my age and I thought I could make friends with you. Look at me now, I  _ am  _ friends with you." Craig smiled and Tweek did so as well. Tweek started to pack the game back in his bag when Craig tugged on his shirt. He looked over to see him inspecting the t-shirts thin cotton. "This is different than what you had while surfing. Can humans change scales?" Tweek laughed.

"They're called clothes, this specifically is a shirt. I was wearing a wetsuit while surfing. They aren't part of our body like that tail of yours so we can swap them out for different things." He resumed putting it away.

"Can I make a request?"

"Sure." He closed the bag and slung it around his shoulder.

"Can you bring me one of these… shirts? I'm curious." Tweek rose to his feet.

"Sure, Craig. I have to go now but I'll bring you one next time." It was surprisingly getting dark.

"Thanks, Tweek. Same time tomorrow?" Craig rolled himself into the water, idling while waiting for Tweek to reply.

"Of course. Bye, Craig." He waved to the raven and Craig did so back before swimming away from the shore.

Tweek started on his trek home.


End file.
